Friday, April 20, 2012

Kenny Dalglish hopes Liverpool can carry the momentum from their FA Cup semi-final victory over local rivals Everton into the remainder of the season.

The Reds triumphed 2-1 against the Toffees in last weekend's derby encounter at Wembley to book a spot in the final against Chelsea - their second cup decider this season after lifting the Carling Cup.

Liverpool's league form has been less impressive but manager Dalglish is hoping Saturday's triumph will give his side impetus in the five games they have left.

"There is always a good feel around and about the football club," he told the club's official website.

"Melwood has always been a nice place to come and work since I've come in and the positive result we got on Saturday puts an extra couple of centimetres on people's smiles.

"We've got our reward for winning in the semi-final against Everton and we want to keep that momentum going.

"We want to try and play as well as we possibly can and get as positive results as we possibly can between now and the end of the season."

Liverpool's fans could struggle to get to Wembley for the final against Chelsea on May 5th, with rail maintenance work over the Bank Holiday weekend, coupled with a 5.15pm kick-off, meaning thousands travelling from the North West will have to find alternative transport.

It adds more misery on supporters who have been allocated 25,000 tickets for the decider - almost 7,000 fewer than their semi-final against Everton last weekend.

Dalglish believes fans are "taken for granted" when it comes to the big events but is confident supporters will make it to Wembley.

"Sometimes that is the problem when fans are taken for granted - not just our fans but those at all football clubs," he said. "That is the decision which has been made and it's been made outside of our control.

"It could have been made a bit easier for them but they are fantastic fans and they will get there."

Liverpool's next challenge comes against West Brom this weekend, with Baggies boss Roy Hodgson set to return to Anfield after an ill-fated stint at the helm over the first half of last season.

Hodgson has enjoyed more success at The Hawthorns, keeping Albion safe from relegation last season and guiding them into midtable this term.

Dalglish expects the manager to be afforded a warm reception when he returns to Merseyside, adding: "It will be good to see Roy. To see him back at Anfield - obviously we've played them down there already - will be good and I'm sure he'll get a warm reception from the supporters.

"He's a man with real integrity and dignity and he tried his best for this football club. I'm sure the supporters will respect that."

Dirk Kuyt is hopeful he can continue his knack of scoring in the big games when Liverpool take on Chelsea in next month's FA Cup final.

The Dutchman has already found the net in both finals the club have been involved in during his time at Anfield.

He scored late on in the 2007 UEFA Champions League final against AC Milan in Athens, although it wasn't enough to prevent the Italians gaining revenge for their defeat in Istanbul two years previously.

And his extra-time strike in February's Carling Cup then helped Kenny Dalglish's men overcome Championship side Cardiff on penalties.

Although he missed out in last weekend's semi-final against Everton, the 31-year-old has backed himself to perform when the big games come around.

"I am proud that, after the Champions League final and the final of the Carling Cup, for the third time I am with Liverpool in a final," the Dutchman said.

"I will do everything to ensure that in the third final I prove my worth with a goal."

Kuyt has found first-team starts harder to come by this season and did not even make it off the bench at Wembley on Saturday.

However, the former Feyenoord star feels he may still have a part to play against the West Londoners on 5th May.

"It is a disappointment that I did not play (against Everton)," he told the Liverpool Echo.

"I expected to come on and you hope to be the first to come on but that was not to be.

"But there have been some important moments for me in the FA Cup, such as my goal against Manchester United (which was the late winner in round four)."

Carroll's towering header from Bellamy's delivery secured a 2-1 win for Liverpool over neighbours Everton and a third Wembley visit of the season for the Reds.

And Liverpool boss Dalglish revealed Bellamy had reaped the rewards for hours of hard work at the club's Melwood training ground.

"Craig's delivery for Andy's strike was perfect," wrote Dalglish in his LFC Weekly Magazine column.

"It always is when the ball finishes in the back of the net. His delivery is normally great; that is because he practices it so much in training.

"It shows that what you do on the training ground pays off. It's not the first time Craig has delivered a ball like that. He's delivered lots of good set-pieces this season. He did it at Chelsea in the Carling Cup when Martin Kelly scored."

The build-up to the all-Merseyside semi-final included much speculation that Liverpool could struggle as they would be forced to field third-choice goalkeeper Brad Jones.

Both Pepe Reina and Alexander Doni were suspended for the game due to recent red cards and with Jones' only involvement this season being an unconvincing display at Blackburn it could have been an area of weakness.

But the former Middlesbrough man produced a solid display and Dalglish believes the plaudits for that must go to goalkeeping coach John Achterberg for his work with the club's goalkeepers.

"Seeing Brad do well was particularly pleasing," added Dalglish.

"I know he came on at Blackburn, but it's been a while since he started a first-team game. Both him and Doni are a credit to themselves.

"They've both looked sharp and confident. How they've performed has been a good reflection of the work John Achterberg has done with them.

"It's unusual for two keepers to be required in such a short period of time. People sometimes ask, 'why do you need three goalkeepers?' It's in case of situations like this. If we hadn't had (Jones and Doni) we might have had to put in one of the youngsters from the Academy.

"A situation like that could ruin a young boy's career. We were fortunate that we didn't have to consider it."

Wigan winger Victor Moses is for a summer transfer to Liverpool after deciding not to renew his deal at the DW stadium.

The Nigeria-born 21-year-old has shone for the Premier League strugglers this season, and has been instrumental in the club’s surge away from the relegation zone, which has seen the Latics chalk up wins against Manchester United and Arsenal.

With only one year remaining on his current contract, Moses is in a position of power at the DW, and with Liverpool interested in acquiring his services, the former Crystal Palace man has seemingly decided the time has come to try his hand at a higher level.

'This is how it works here (in England),’ said his agent Tony Finnigan.

'Victor Moses has just a year left on his contract with Wigan Athletic and we were about to start talks on the extension when he said he does not want to sign a new deal.

'Victor Moses has played himself into a position where virtually every club in the Premier League want to sign him.

'All of the Premier League clubs will be strengthening in the summer and we are not surprised that Moses has been linked with virtually every team in the top division.'

Keen to point out there is no friction between the youngster and his current boss, Finnigan added: 'It doesn't mean he doesn't like his manager - he chose Wigan over other clubs.

'Martinez is a tactical genius and an excellent coach, and they are Victor's words.

'He's been playing regularly, he's in form and enjoying his football. He has been offered the chance to extend his contract but has said, "No thank you".'

It seems Athletic Bilbao will have a tough time hanging onto their players in the summer after Liverpool where the latest side to be linked one of their players in young striker Mikel Zaton.

The Spanish side has made the semi-finals of the Europa League and there has been speculation about a number of their players leaving, with the likes of Iker Muniain. Javi Martinez and Fernando Llorente, who has often been linked with a move to Liverpool, all admired by a number of European clubs.

However, according to Basque newspaper El Correo, Liverpool are hoping to steal one of their youth team players after learning that Zaton had scored an impressive 25 goals in 28 games.

The 16-year-old has bagged five hat-tricks this season and the paper suggests that Liverpool have already entered into negotiations with the Spanish side to try and complete a deal in the summer.

Liverpool are hoping to improve their squad at the end of the season and the clubs transfer policy since Fenway Sports Group took over has been to look at signing younger players who represent value for money.

Hamburg are the latest club to reportedly show their interest in Liverpool attacker Dirk Kuyt, with rumours circulating that he will be on his way out of Anfield this summer.

Kuyt has found his first team opportunities limited since the arrival of Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool boss last year, starting only 11 games in the league this season.

Dalglish has opted for the natural width of Stewart Downing, and has preferred the youthful exuberance of Jordan Henderson to the industry of Kuyt.

The Dutchman's decreasing role at Liverpool has seen him linked with a number of clubs, and according to the Liverpool Daily Post it seems as though the latest club to show an interest is Bundesliga side Hamburg, who reached the Europa League quarter-finals.

The German side is currently 14th in the table, but is looking to strengthen in the summer as the push to regain European football.

However, the 31 year-old is also thought to be wanted by former side Feyenoord, where he enjoyed three prolific seasons, scoring 71 times in 101 appearances.

Feyenoord coach Ronald Koeman recently admitted he was interested in bringing the Netherlands international back to Feyenoord.

“As coach of Feyenoord, I naturally hope that he will wear the shirt of Feyenoord again, but I can’t say more than that,” Koeman said.